Mike Sullivan, Finance Expert in Bogotá - Bogota, Colombia
Mike is available for hire
Hire Mike

Mike Sullivan

Verified Expert  in Finance

Bio

Mike is a sales and business development executive with five successful startups and turnarounds in Silicon Valley, generating several billion dollars in investor and founder equity. He is exceptional at assessing sales, business development, and go-to-market situations and developing strategies and plans for success. Mike is a Toptal freelancer because he enjoys helping clients achieve the success they deserve.

Career Highlights

Sales and Business Development Consultant
Freelance
Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development
CIC
Western Regional Director
Unisys Network Enable

Certification Highlights

Machine Learning with Python
IBM | via Coursera
Google Cloud Digital Leader Training
Google Cloud | via Coursera
Google Cybersecurity
Google | via Coursera

Case Studies

Work Experience

Sales and Business Development Consultant

2008 - PRESENT
Freelance
  • Developed and implemented successful sales strategies within the enterprise landscape, driving growth and building high-performing sales teams as an enterprise SaaS sales consultant.
  • Analyzed existing sales processes, identified areas for improvement, and implemented data-driven solutions. Collaborated with C-level executives and navigated complex buying cycles. Brought valuable healthcare industry experience.
  • Improved the close rates with tech sales organizations and profit margins for numerous companies by coaching sales representatives to understand buyer mentality and motivation, create value propositions, and effectively communicate these to clients.
  • Created pricing models, forecasts, proposals, RFP responses, and resource allocation models to increase revenue and improve profitability.
Focus areas: Sales Training, Sales Strategy, Sales Compensation, Business Development, Creative Problem Solving, Marketing, Management, New Business Development, Tech Sales, Startups, Business to Business (B2B), Market Development, Licensing, Technology, OEM Sales, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Network Security, Sales Pitches, Emailers, Executive Coaching, Digital Marketing, Business Process Optimization, Sales Management, Sales Process Management, Business Strategy, Content Strategy, Storytelling, Small Business Management, Small Business Consultants, Startup Consulting, Lean Startups, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Email Templates, Business Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnership Identification, B2B Partnerships, Strategic Partnerships, Partnership Management, Business Technology, Technology Consulting, Value Proposition, Go-to-market Strategy, B2B, Digital Marketing Strategy, Pricing, Email Marketing, Email Marketing Automation, Sales & Channel Enablement, English, Business, Cybersecurity, Growth Strategy, Market Fit, B2C, Sales, Lead Generation, Wireless Systems, Strategy, Executive Presentations, Client Presentations, Presentations, Client Relationship Management, B2B Lead Generation, Deal Closure, LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn Marketing, Blockchain, Sales Funnel, Sales Growth, Market Entry, Sales Operations, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Visual Storytelling, Apps, United States, Business Modeling, Fundraising, Sales Forecasting, Retail & Wholesale, Sales Effectiveness, Education, Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Request for Proposal (RFP), B2B Sales Pipeline, Enterprise SaaS, Customer Success, Healthcare, Process Improvement, Coaching, Communication, Training, Account Management, Management Consulting

Vice President of Western Region

2003 - 2006
Airdefense
  • Acted as a strategic sales leader skilled in building and scaling outbound sales channels for SaaS companies targeting the enterprise market. Provided expertise in developing data-driven sales strategies, setting success metrics, and optimizing sales funnels.
  • Signed agreements with major accounts, including Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), one of the largest healthcare chains in the Western region, and established strategic alliances with IBM, INS, Cisco, Perot Systems, and SBC.
  • Increased revenues 80%-100% year-over-year to $14 million annually and retained 100% of accounts during the tenure.
  • Developed the WLAN systems integrator channel in the western region.
  • Created pricing models, responded to RFPs, and positioned the region with prospects, whereby we assisted in RFP creation.
Focus areas: Startups, Business to Business (B2B), Business Development, New Business Development, Creative Problem Solving, Management, Tech Sales, Sales Training, Sales Strategy, Sales Compensation, Market Development, Licensing, Technology, OEM Sales, Mobile, Network Security, Sales Pitches, Emailers, Executive Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Process Management, Business Strategy, Small Business Management, Small Business Consultants, Startup Consulting, Lean Startups, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Email Templates, Business Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnership Identification, B2B Partnerships, Strategic Partnerships, Partnership Management, Business Technology, Technology Consulting, Value Proposition, Go-to-market Strategy, B2B, Pricing, Email Marketing, Email Marketing Automation, Sales & Channel Enablement, Growth Strategy, Market Fit, Sales, Lead Generation, Wireless Systems, Strategy, Executive Presentations, Client Presentations, Presentations, Client Relationship Management, B2B Lead Generation, Deal Closure, LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn Marketing, Sales Funnel, Sales Growth, Market Entry, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Visual Storytelling, Apps, United States, Business Modeling, Fundraising, Sales Forecasting, Retail & Wholesale, Sales Effectiveness, Education, Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Request for Proposal (RFP), B2B Sales Pipeline, Enterprise SaaS, Customer Success, Healthcare, Process Improvement, Coaching, Communication, Training, Account Management

Vice President of Global Business Development

2001 - 2003
AeroScout
  • Established global, executive-level relationships to achieve technology design wins and sales in the new market of wireless LAN (802.11) location sensing and Bluetooth distance measurement with alpha and beta products.
  • Developed partnership with RADIUS authentication server partners to create the industry's first location-based authentication solution. Authored location-based security patent.
  • Closed OEM agreements with two divisions of NTT DATA in Japan and collaborated with teams to define applications, target markets, business models, and pilot projects to create WLAN location-based services market in Tokyo.
  • Secured agreements with global leaders such as Sony-Ericsson, Symbian, Motorola, and HP. Secured a deal with Intel to integrate AeroScout Bluetooth IP into the Centrino platform and from IBM to combine with ThinkPad notebook products.
  • Developed a wide range of pricing models appropriate for emerging markets of both technical and commercial nature. Forecasted engineering, sales, and marketing resources.
Focus areas: Market Development, Technology, Licensing, OEM Sales, Creative Problem Solving, Marketing, Management, New Business Development, Tech Sales, Sales Training, Sales Strategy, Business Development, Sales Compensation, Startups, Business to Business (B2B), OEMs, Mobile, Network Security, Sales Pitches, Emailers, Executive Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Process Management, Business Strategy, Small Business Consultants, Startup Consulting, Lean Startups, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Email Templates, Business Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnership Identification, B2B Partnerships, Strategic Partnerships, Partnership Management, Business Technology, Technology Consulting, Value Proposition, Go-to-market Strategy, B2B, Pricing, Email Marketing, Email Marketing Automation, Sales & Channel Enablement, Growth Strategy, Market Fit, Sales, Lead Generation, Wireless Systems, Strategy, Executive Presentations, Client Presentations, Presentations, Client Relationship Management, B2B Lead Generation, Deal Closure, LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn Marketing, Sales Funnel, Sales Growth, Market Entry, Sales Operations, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Visual Storytelling, Apps, United States, Business Modeling, Fundraising, Sales Forecasting, Retail & Wholesale, Sales Effectiveness, Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Request for Proposal (RFP), Contract, Contract Negotiation, Negotiation, RFP Pricing, Pricing Models, Pricing RFQ, B2B Sales Pipeline, Enterprise SaaS, Customer Success, Healthcare, Process Improvement, Coaching, Communication, Training, Account Management

Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development

1998 - 2001
CIC
  • Reversed the company's money-losing direction and near NASD de-listing to over $1 billion in investor equity in two years. Became the third-highest NASD volume when one of the key clients, Palm, Inc., went public.
  • Closed OEM licensing deals with high-profile companies, including a $1.5 million creative OEM licensing agreement with Sony-Ericsson/Symbian, $750,000 to Microsoft, and $500,000 to Fujitsu America. Developed early SaaS pricing models.
  • Led a five-member team selling development tools and products to enterprise and developer markets. Revenue was virtually nonexistent when I joined, but the company became profitable in my first year.
  • Sold the first electronic signature solutions to Charles Schwab and other financial institutions.
  • Created several pricing models to accommodate emerging markets, from OEM licensing, royalties, buyouts, prepayments, developer platforms and royalties, and more to maximize gross revenue and revenue recognition.
Focus areas: OEMs, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Creative Problem Solving, Marketing, Management, New Business Development, Tech Sales, Sales Training, Sales Strategy, Business Development, Sales Compensation, Startups, Business to Business (B2B), Market Development, Technology, Licensing, OEM Sales, Network Security, Sales Pitches, Emailers, Executive Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Process Management, Business Strategy, Storytelling, Small Business Management, Small Business Consultants, Startup Consulting, Lean Startups, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Email Templates, Business Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnership Identification, B2B Partnerships, Strategic Partnerships, Partnership Management, Business Technology, Technology Consulting, Value Proposition, Go-to-market Strategy, B2B, Pricing, Email Marketing, Sales & Channel Enablement, Cybersecurity, Growth Strategy, Market Fit, B2C, Sales, Lead Generation, Wireless Systems, Strategy, Executive Presentations, Client Presentations, Presentations, Client Relationship Management, B2B Lead Generation, Deal Closure, LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn Marketing, Sales Funnel, Sales Growth, Market Entry, Sales Operations, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Visual Storytelling, Apps, United States, Business Modeling, Fundraising, Sales Forecasting, Retail & Wholesale, Sales Effectiveness, Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Request for Proposal (RFP), Intellectual Property Licensing, Product Licensing, B2B Sales Pipeline, Enterprise SaaS, Customer Success, Healthcare, Process Improvement, Coaching, Communication, Training, Account Management

District Manager

1995 - 1998
International Network Services
  • Secured new business from major accounts such as Clorox, Charles Schwab, The Gap, and University of California San Francisco. Sold complex enterprise network solutions from corporate backbones to information security audits and policy development.
  • Recognized as the top sales representative in the highly competitive San Francisco district.
  • Secured a contract for $50 million or $1.7 million per year for three years with the University of California San Francisco to develop an ATM/SONET campus backbone and design and develop a new network operations center.
Focus areas: Business Development, Sales Pitches, Sales Strategy, Creative Problem Solving, Management, New Business Development, Tech Sales, Sales Training, Sales Compensation, Startups, Business to Business (B2B), Market Development, OEM Sales, Network Security, Sales Management, Business Strategy, Partnerships, Partnership Identification, B2B Partnerships, Technology Consulting, Go-to-market Strategy, B2B, Cybersecurity, Executive Presentations, Client Presentations, Presentations, Client Relationship Management, Deal Closure, LinkedIn Ads, Sales Funnel, Sales Growth, Market Entry, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Visual Storytelling, Apps, United States, Business Modeling, Fundraising, Sales Forecasting, Sales Effectiveness, Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Request for Proposal (RFP), B2B Sales Pipeline, Customer Success, Process Improvement, Coaching, Communication, Training, Account Management

Western Regional Director

1991 - 1995
Unisys Network Enable
  • Turned around the San Francisco district from 48th place out of 52 to third place in year one.
  • Served as the go-to solution for LOB representatives and exceeded quota by 325%.
  • Acted as the western region director to replicate success in the rest of the 13 states. Promoted the organization to senior regional management and obtained buy-in from LOB district managers.
  • Restructured the region sales, application engineering, and support organization to achieve 32% year-to-year performance when the region was declining.
  • Created the model to move the division from paper and faxes to a modern document database methodology to create an all-electronic workflow from electronic vendor catalog, automated configurations, electronic customer approvals, and order entry.
Focus areas: Business Development, Sales Management, Sales Process Management, Creative Problem Solving, Marketing, Management, New Business Development, Tech Sales, Sales Training, Sales Strategy, Sales Compensation, Startups, Business to Business (B2B), Market Development, OEM Sales, Network Security, Sales Pitches, Business Strategy, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Business Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnership Identification, B2B Partnerships, Partnership Management, Business Technology, Technology Consulting, Value Proposition, Go-to-market Strategy, B2B, Pricing, Sales & Channel Enablement, Market Fit, Executive Presentations, Client Presentations, Presentations, Sales Funnel, Sales Growth, Market Entry, Sales Operations, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Visual Storytelling, United States, Business Modeling, Sales Forecasting, Sales Effectiveness, Education, Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Request for Proposal (RFP), Strategy, System Implementation, Pricing Models, RFP Pricing, Margin Optimization, Gross Profit Margin Growth, Gross Margins, B2B Sales Pipeline, Customer Success, Coaching, Communication, Training, Account Management
1976 - 1980

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Management

Clarkson University - Potsdam, New York, USA

JUNE 2024 - PRESENT

Machine Learning with Python

IBM | via Coursera

MARCH 2024 - PRESENT

Cyber Incident Response

INFOSEC | via Coursera

FEBRUARY 2024 - PRESENT

Google Cloud Digital Leader Training

Google Cloud | via Coursera

JANUARY 2024 - PRESENT

Google Cybersecurity

Google | via Coursera

JULY 2022 - PRESENT

Fintech: Overview, Payments, and Regulation

University of Pennsylvania

APRIL 2021 - PRESENT

HubSpot Inbound Certification

HubSpot

JANUARY 2001 - MAY 2014

US Patent

US PTO

JUNE 1983 - PRESENT

Technical Marketing Training Program (TMP)

General Electric

Finance

Forecasting, Revenue & Expense Projections, Pricing, Fundraising, Financial Modeling, Blockchain

Industry Expertise

Technology, Retail & Wholesale, Healthcare

Geographic Expertise

United States

Output Software

Jira, SharePoint

Data & Analysis Software

SQL

Other

Business Development, Creative Problem Solving, Marketing, Management, New Business Development, Tech Sales, Sales Training, Sales Strategy, Startups, Business to Business (B2B), OEM Sales, OEMs, Network Security, Sales Pitches, Executive Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Process Management, Business Strategy, Storytelling, Small Business Consultants, Startup Consulting, Lean Startups, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Email Templates, Business Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnership Identification, B2B Partnerships, Strategic Partnerships, Partnership Management, Business Technology, Technology Consulting, Value Proposition, Go-to-market Strategy, B2B, Sales & Channel Enablement, Sales, Presentations, Client Presentations, Executive Presentations, Client Relationship Management, B2B Lead Generation, Deal Closure, English, Business, Sales Funnel, Sales Growth, Sales Forecasting, Licensing, Sales Effectiveness, Request for Proposal (RFP), B2B Sales Pipeline, Process Improvement, Coaching, Communication, Training, Account Management, Management Consulting, Sales Compensation, Market Development, Mobile, Emailers, Digital Marketing, Business Process Optimization, Inbound Marketing, Content Strategy, Small Business Management, Digital Marketing Strategy, Email Marketing, Email Marketing Automation, Cybersecurity, Growth Strategy, Market Fit, B2C, Lead Generation, Wireless Systems, Strategy, LinkedIn Marketing, LinkedIn Ads, Market Entry, Sales Operations, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Apps, Business Modeling, Education, Enterprise SaaS, Customer Success, Mobile Apps, Drip Email, Edtech Design, Visual Storytelling, Fintech, Marketing Automation, Website Setup, Website Ranking, SEO Tools, Organic SEO, Confluence, Asana, Evernote, Google, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Azure, Contract, Contract Negotiation, Negotiation, RFP Pricing, Pricing Models, Pricing RFQ, Intellectual Property Licensing, Product Licensing, System Implementation, Margin Optimization, Gross Profit Margin Growth, Gross Margins, Desktop Web Design, WordPress, WordPress Design, Python, Information Security Management Systems (ISMS), Linux, Intrusions Detection (IDS), Google Cloud, Digital Transformation, Cloud Computing, Forensics, Computer Security, Analysis, Machine Learning, Regression, Hierarchical Clustering, Image Classification, Scikit-learn, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Engineering, Zoho CRM, Zoho One, AI Design, Workflow, Chatbots, Helpdesk, SciPy

Collaboration That Works

How to Work with Toptal

Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.

1

Share your needs

Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2

Choose your talent

Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3

Start your risk-free talent trial

Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.

Top talent is in high demand.

Start hiring